The Chesapeake Bay is an incredibly complex ecosystem as well as the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay and its rivers, wetlands and forests provide homes, food and protection for countless animals and plants.  In the last four centuries, the Chesapeake Bay has lost half of its forested shoreline, more than half its wetlands, nearly 80 percent of its underwater grasses, and more than 98 percent of its oysters.  Historically, oysters were the Bay's most valuable fishery.  Ecologically, native oysters are equally important: they filter algae, sediment, and other pollutants. Oyster reefs also provide habitat for fish, crabs, and other Bay organisms making their restoration critical to help improve both the Bay’s water quality and increase its economic viability as a fishery. 

Approximately half of the land area of Pennsylvania drains into the Chesapeake Bay. The Susquehanna is the largest tributary, providing the Bay half of its total freshwater flow. Without the support of Pennsylvania, the Chesapeake Bay cannot be restored. Even more importantly, the water that feeds into the Bay is local to Pennsylvania. It is crucial that the local waters of Pennsylvania be restored for use by our citizens.

In 2019, Pennsylvania and neighboring states (Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, Virginia, and West Virginia) began the third phase of their work to clean up the Chesapeake Bay. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has assigned specific pollution reduction goals to Pennsylvania, and we have until 2025 to reach them. Pennsylvania’s targets include reducing nitrogen by 34 million pounds per year, phosphorus by 7 million pounds per year and sediment (soil) by 531 million pounds per year. When it rains, these pollutants run off surfaces such as farm fields, streets, and parking lots and go right into streams and rivers.

This effort, formally known as the Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plan spells out how the state government will work in partnership with other governments and the private sector to meet our goals.  Each county also has its own goal and, as part of this effort, each county must develop Countywide Action Plans (CAPs) showing how they’ll reduce their share of the pollution. Clinton County is scheduled to begin its effort in 2020.

More information about the issues facing the Chesapeake Bay can be found on the Chesapeake Bay Program website.